Strangers and Pilgrims

Genesis 47 shows God's people settling in Egypt. Joseph's brothers present themselves honestly as shepherds, and Pharaoh grants them the best of the land. Then comes a striking scene: Jacob, a frail old man, blesses Pharaoh, both on entering and on leaving. The bearer of God's covenant blessing is spiritually greater than the king of Egypt (Hebrews 7:7).

Jacob's answer to Pharaoh's question is honest and humble: The years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have been few and evil. Jacob had experienced much sorrow, much of it from his own choices. Yet he called it a pilgrimage, a journey toward a promised home. Hebrews 11:13 says the patriarchs confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

As the famine worsens, Joseph administers Egypt's food supply: first money, then livestock, then land and service are exchanged for grain. Pharaoh received a fifth of the harvest, and the people themselves say, You have saved our lives. Meanwhile Israel were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly, fulfilling God's words in 46:3. The chapter ends with Jacob making Joseph swear to bury him in Canaan. Even in comfort, Jacob's hope was fixed on God's promise.